ARP Avatar
The ARP Avatar was a guitar-controlled synthesizer (guitar synthesizer), manufactured by ARP Instruments, Inc. beginning in 1977. While innovative, being one of the first commercial guitar-controlled synthesizers, it was a commercial flop for ARP, and is widely blamed for causing the financial collapse of the company.
| Avatar | |
|---|---|
 ARP Avatar | |
| Manufacturer | ARP Instruments, Inc. |
| Dates | 1977 |
| Price | US $3000 [1] |
| Technical specifications | |
| Polyphony | Monophonic |
| Timbrality | Monotimbral |
| Oscillator | 2 |
| LFO | Sine, Square |
| Synthesis type | Analog Subtractive |
| Attenuator | ADSR, AR |
| Storage memory | none |
| Effects | 1 |
| Input/output | |
| Keyboard | none |
| External control | CV/Gate |
Nearly $4 million was spent in the first year on production and R&D for the Avatar, and the $3,000 machine sold only about $1 million worth of units over its lifespan. Guitarists were not quick to adopt the new technology, mostly due to the unit's price and technical eccentricities. The Avatar, however, did find a few advocates and paved the way for more successful guitar synthesizers. Because of its architecture - essentially an ARP Odyssey with a 6-way "fuzzbox" distortion effect - it has regained a little stature among collectors as a standalone synthesizer.
References
- "ARP Avatar | Vintage Synth Explorer". www.vintagesynth.com. Retrieved 2018-08-03.
External links
- ARP Avatar Entry on Sonicstate.
- The Rise and Fall of ARP Instruments (article from April 1983, Keyboard Magazine)
- ARP Avatar at VintageSynth.com